Jason Betteley was there with the lads at the Surrey Rugby awards ceremony as they picked up their trophy for winning the cup. These are his reflections on a great evening for Barnes Rugby:

As we know, in 2008 the Barnes Minis were created by a small band of inexperienced, and some might say naïve, volunteer dads. These dads brought along their own kids to help kickstart the first burgeoning age groups (from U4-U7s) and I think you can see from the faces of these tiny tots in the bottom photo how much fun everyone was having: the photo includes a youthful Chris Lundie, Hugh Ferridge (original Minis Captains) as well as a very young and innocent Ned Watson!

17 years later, those innocent and youthful players and coaches – players Ned Watson (now 21yrs) and Jasper Trott as well as outgoing Youth Chair Jason Betteley – collected the U22s Surrey Cup from our one-and-only, Dave Doonan, at the Surrey RFU End of Season Awards. It’s been an amazing journey for the Barnes Minis, Juniors, Colts and U22s, with over 700 kids and young adults playing fun rugby with flare and finesse and, most importantly, wearing the Green and Gold with huge pride and joy.”